In January Delta announced that they would be updating their SkyClub access policy in a pretty major way.
What it ultimately boils down to is that as of May 1, 2014, Delta is no longer allowing complimentary guesting privileges for those entering through an American Express Platinum or American Express Delta Reserve Card — instead they’ll have to pay $29 for each guest they bring in. Along the same lines, the standard SkyClub membership will no longer come with guesting privileges, but instead they’re introducing an “Executive Membership,” which still allows guests.
Back in January Alaska was running a promotion on Boardroom Memberships, whereby they were offering 7,500 bonus Mileage Plan miles for new memberships. Given how valuable Alaska miles are, I value those at ~$150. That’s a very nice discount.
What I found interesting was that when Delta announced the access policy changes in January they didn’t mention a policy update for those entering through partner lounge memberships, like Alaska Boardroom members.
However, per Alaska’s Boardroom website, it appears as if they’ve now updated the Delta SkyClub access policy:
Board Room members are welcome to bring their immediate family (spouse/domestic partner and children under the age of 21) or as many as two guests into all Alaska Airlines Board Rooms and all partner lounges except Delta Sky Clubs.
Effective May 1, 2014: Delta Sky Clubs will no longer offer guest privileges. Board Room members may purchase discounted $29 Day Passes for up to two guests at any Delta operated Sky Club locations.
It’s a bit disappointing that Alaska is announcing this now, two weeks before the policy change. I’m not sure if this is because Delta hadn’t communicated with Alaska (which wouldn’t surprise me given the drama going on between the two carriers), or if Alaska simply hasn’t communicated with their members.
Just to be clear, I was expecting the SkyClub access policy for Boardroom members would eventually change, as I explained in the previous post:
Something tells me this policy will change soon. You would hope it wouldn’t apply to existing members (since you signed up based on the current set of benefits), though we’re talking about Delta here, the airline that enjoys making customer unfriendly changes without any advance notice. Regardless, the 7,500 bonus Mileage Plan miles for new members is nice!
Still, I would be pretty miffed if I had purchased a Boardroom membership with the primary intent of using Delta SkyClubs, and was just informed of this with two weeks notice. Delta is “honoring” the membership terms for their own members with existing memberships, so if I were a Boardroom member I’d be taking this up with Alaska and looking for a pro-rated refund or something.
Delta SkyClub Sky Deck ATL Airport
(Tip of the hat to Laurel)
After all, I don't want to miss out on the skunky beer!
So I assume that this means that individual Board Room pass holders are still eligible to access the Sky Clubs.
@ Shannon M. -- That's correct.
The Alaska language suggests that the $29 per guest is a per-day fee, not a per-visit fee. I wonder if that will also be the case when paying $29 to bring in a guest using the Amex Platinum card -- for those with connections it could make the expense sting a little bit less.
That is a bummer for all those that did sign-up for that promo. It is amazing how fast things change, though. In your quote above from your previous post, you could now substitute American Airlines for Delta with equal accuracy. :)
It is a shame when two airlines start kicking each other. Either cut full ties or carry full privileges between the two. I hate when I don't know what I can accept when counting on something. It is confusing and many times embarrassing when kicked out from a partner airline's place where you thought you had the same privilege as with your main carrier. Grrrrr. Endre